Urgent appeal to disaster

Please allow me on behalf of IPA Japan Section to extend my warmest greetings to you PEB members, President of IPA National Sections, Secretaries and IPA friends from all over the world,

As the world has witnessed a great tragedy this past March 11 with the unprecedented major earthquake and following tsunami which took so many innocent lives, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for the many messages of heartfelt sympathy. Your warm and kind words are a great encouragement to us. It is with good fortune that we can communicate that all of our IPA Japan members have been spared, although some police offers have been slightly injured.

Nevertheless, to date, it has been revealed that more than 13,800 fatalities have been confirmed and more than 14,00 persons are still classified as missing, among whom 19 fatalities and 11 missing policemen are included. This number is still rising. Moreover, countless policemen/policewomen and firemen/firewomen from all over Japan are still struggling to cope with the devastation left by the earthquake and tsunami, helped by many volunteers, both local and others from various countries. Added to the difficulty of their task is the precarious situation involving the damaged nuclear power plant which continues to cause anxiety as engineers brave their way to try to resolve the complicated issues.at hand.

As circumstances until now have been in a state of uncertainty and confusion, we felt it best to initially wait for a clear assessment of the situation before appealing for assistance, but we have received offers of assistance and donations from many Governments IPA member countries and many IPA friends worldwide. We are sincerely grateful for the concern shown by all.

In response to the offers of help and donations, I, as the current president serving IPA Japan, formally extend our appeal for your kind expressions of support from any member countries and individuals who have already expressed their kind willingness to assist and from other friends who would like to contribute to the relief efforts here.

We will focus the donations to be used to support immediate relief efforts for survivors, especially the families of those police officers who are still listed unaccounted for.

It is with the honor and gratitude of that of my colleagues in Japan that we extend our thanks for your good wishes and expressions of support.